The present invention relates to a device which is used in an operation of securing a soft tissue graft such as tendon or fascia (hereinafter referred to as ligament graft) to bone easily and reliably.
In recent years, in a case where the ligament is torn or damaged in such an extent that it cannot be repaired, an operation of replacing the non-functioning ligament with the ligament graft consisting of tendon or fascia is widely performed. The method of securing the ligament graft to the bone is different according to the length of the ligament graft:
(1) In the case where the ligament graft is not long enough for its one end to emerge from a bone tunnel, threads sewed to the end of the ligament graft is tied around a screw post inserted into the bone in the neighborhood of the tunnel exit or the thread is tied over a button.
(2) In the case where the ligament graft is long enough for its one end to emerge from the bone tunnel exit, the ligament graft is secured to the bone with either a staple or a spike- washer and a screw.
However, in the case of (1), it is difficult to adjust the amount of a tensile force to be applied to the ligament graft. Further, because the threads are tied around the screw or over the button under a high tensile load, the threads are not infrequently broken or loosened. In the case of (2), the ligament graft-securing device is superimposed on the ligament graft on the bony surface, thus projecting to the skin in a very large amount. Consequently, a patient may ache. Finally, the use of the ligament graft-securing device may cause the ligament graft damage because the high compressive and/or impact load is applied thereto. Thus, the ligament grafts are secured to the bone in a various degree of strength.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-described problems and provide a ligament graft-securing device capable of securing an end of a ligament graft to bone easily and firmly in a short period of time, with a desired amount of a tensile force being applied to the ligament graft.